From The Very Beginning
by Kotohime Haku
Summary: A promise they never broke, yet, he never kept it. It seemed as if all the years they spent together were made up by false feelings. AU, shounen-ai Kamui/Shinpachi


**Title:** From the Very Beginning

**Genre: **Friendship/Romance

**Pairings: **Light Shinpachi/Kamui

**Author's Note: **I made this in celebration for my first anniversary here at and because I wanted to make a Gintama fanfic badly.

* * *

><p><strong>March<strong>

Shimura Shinpachi was only eight years old at that time. Ever since he lost his parents at an early age, he became more aware of his surroundings and started to understand the world a little faster than the kids in his age group. He knew his sister, Shimura Otae, was probably hurt the most, being shouldered to take care of him and feed themselves. At that moment, he knew that he would never make her cry, and thus, became independent.

But there is one thing he doesn't understand: Why is there an orange-haired girl sitting right on top of him?

"Four Eyes!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Wake up, Four Eyes!"

Shinpachi blinked as an anger mark ticked on his cheek. "I'm not Four Eyes," he growled, pushing his glasses up. "I'm Shinpachi. Shimura Shinpachi."

"Shin…pachi…?" the girl cocked her head to the side.

"Yes, Shinpachi," he repeated.

"Shinpachi!" the girl cried out, attacking him into a big hug. Startled, Shinpachi didn't have time to react and fell back right into the bed with the orange-haired girl squealing and giggling.

At that moment, in the midst of her squeals, he heard a knock on the door. "Shin-chan?"

_I-It's Ane-ue! _Shinpachi panicked inside his mind. He looked down at the girl who was still squealing as he tried to push her off. _O-Oh no! What's she going to think if she sees her? _Desperate, he tried to cover her with his blanket, but the door was already opened, revealing Otae.

"Shin-chan?" she said, blinking.

"A-Ane-ue!"

Otae didn't say anything. She just walked towards them, but in Shinpachi's eyes, it was like a raging monster seething in anger.

"A-Ane-ue! I-I'm so sorry! I-I—"

Otae smiled brightly and picked the young girl up from the bed. "So that's where you were, Kagura-chan! I've been looking all over for you!"

Shinpachi blinked in disbelief.

The said girl names Kagura giggled. "Ane-go said that you wanted to wake Shinpachi up, so I woke him up for you!"

"My, that's a sweet thing to do, Kagura-chan!" Otae exclaimed, ruffling her hair. "But next time, tell us, ok? You got your brother worried."

Shinpachi blinked again—there's more?

As if on cue, another orange-haired kid waltzed in. "Hey there!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"Nii-chan!" Kagura exclaimed brightly. She hopped off of Otae's grasp and ran to her brother, who was patting her head.

"A-Ane-ue," Shinpachi uttered out. "W-Who are they?"

"They're our new neighbors, Shin-chan," Otae smiled. "This boy is Kamui-kun, and this is his little sister, Kagura-chan. They're just two years younger and older than you, but get along well."

Shinpachi blinked. And blinked. And blinked.

"What?"

"Like I said," Otae repeated. "They're our new neighbors."

"B-But, what happened to the Yamanabe's?"

"They moved out, obviously," said Otae.

"B-But they were here just yesterday."

"They moved out at 12 in the morning."

_Why did they go through the trouble of moving in the middle of the night? _Shinpachi deadpanned inside his head. "T-Then these people—"

"They moved in at 12 in the morning when the Yamanabe's moved out."

Kagura nodded proudly. "That's right! The sky was pretty at that time!"

_Why are they so obsessed with moving in at 12 in the morning? Are they vampires? Are they vampires or something, can't you move in like tomorrow! _But Shinpachi knew playing the straight man inside his head is useless.

"Anyways, hurry up and get dressed, Shin-chan," Otae said with her hands on her hips. "You'll have to go to school early and take your new friends to school with you."

"Eh? They're going to school with me?" Shinpachi asked.

Otae nodded. "Now don't be so rude and make them wait!" Otae turned back to their neighbors and smiled, "Now Kamui-kun and Kagura-chan, let's go outside and have some breakfast. I made some fried eggs this morning."

"Yay! Fried eggs!" Kagura squealed.

Shinpahi gagged. His sister's fried eggs? Oh no, they're too young to die! "W-Wait! I-I'll be done soon, so don't touch the table and I'll make breakfast for you!" In a hurry, he immediately threw his clothes on the floor and changed into his uniform as soon as the door was shut. He quickly combed his hair, brushed his teeth and ran out of the door and slid right into the kitchen.

However, at that very moment, he saw Kagura holding up this suspicious black thing on her chopsticks and was about to put it into her mouth. Same with Kamui. With a glint on his glasses, Shinpachi, at lightening speed, switched the burnt fried eggs with a piece of buttered bread and shoved it into their mouths and snatched the eggs away from them without the sister noticing. Nor the neighbors.

Kagura munched on her food quietly. "Mmm! Mmhmmm!"

Otae chuckled as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Swallow your food first down, Kagura-chan, then talk."

Nodding, Kagura swallowed her food down and said excitedly, "This is great, Ane-ue!" with sparkling eyes.

Otae, filled with pink bliss, smiled and hugged Kagura. "It's like I have a little sister!"

Shimpachi sighed in relief as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He just saved their lives from the poisonous cooking.

"Thanks."

Shinpachi turned around and faced the speaker.

Kamui's smiled as directed at Shinpachi. "Go cook. I'm hungry." With an eager face on, Kamui emitted this dangerous aura around him that was demanding for food.

Surprised and frightened, Shinpachi went back into the kitchen and began to cook. _Was it my imagination? _He thought, thinking back to when he heard a 'thanks'. So far, he's only seen this Kamui guy smiling. He hasn't once shown any other emotions.

A few moments later, Shinpachi was done cooking and passed it out to the table.

Kagura was eating eagerly and stuffed as many as she can into her mouth. Otae was scolding her to slow down eating, but she was too busy keeping her thoughts occupied with the thought of having Kagura as a little sister.

What surprised Shinpachi the most, is that the orange-haired siblings…ate more than ten bowls of rice.

Even Otae was shocked, but she smiled, saying how its cute for kids to eat a lot.

Shinpachi couldn't even keep up with them anymore. Instead, he decided to try to escape from them. "I'm going to school first." And grabbed his bag.

"No," Otae said. "Bring them with you to school."

"But Ane-ue—"

"No buts!" Otae scolded. "I'm going to school with Kyu-chan today, so you'll have to bear the responsibility, as their new friends!"

"But Ane-ue, you go to the same school as us."

Otae put her hands on his shoulders. "Shin-chan, this and that are a different matter."

"You just don't want to take them to school, right?"

"Kamui-kun! Kagura-chan! Finish eating and let's go to school!"

"Ane-ue, you just completely ignored me!"

"Shin-chan, adults have a tough time to deal with kids."

"Ane-ue, you're only ten years old! That's still considered a kid! And isn't Kamui-san the same age as you?"

"Ane-go!" Kagura rushed up and hugged Otae's legs. "Let's go to school!" She grinned, her mouth full of grains of rice.

Otae chuckled and wiped the rice off of her mouth. "A lady should be more proper, Kagura-chan."

She grinned skeptically.

"Alright, I'm going to go first now," Otae smiled. "Bye, Kagura-chan, Kamui-kun! I'll be going ahead first~" and then she disappeared in a flash.

"Take care, Ane-go!" Kagura shouted, waving her arms. Kamui smiled like always and waved.

Shinpachi sighed and pushed up his glasses. He walked the two to school with nothing in particular to talk about, except Kagura's ramblings on something.

Occasionally, Kamui and Shinpachi's eyes would meet, and Kamui would smile, while Shinpachi looked away, feeling awkward. When they reached the school building, Shinpachi gave them a brief introduction of the school and directed them to the principal's office for their class.

After waving goodbye to the orange-haired siblings, he sighed in relief and happily walked to his own classroom.

He wouldn't have to be with them for a good seven hours. Until lunchtime came around.

"Shinpachi!" Kagura shouted across the hall. All eyes stared at Shinpachi, who blushed in embarrassment. "Let's have lunch!"

Grumbling under his breath, Shinpachi trudged down the hall holding his red face down to avoid the weird stares he's getting.

_School sucks, _he thought.

After lunch, Shinpachi went back to his class and jot down notes. He wasn't in the mood to listen to the teacher today, so he stared out at the window. He saw a group of people surrounding two people. One was sitting, and the other was standing in front of the person sitting.

Huh?

He wipes his glasses. Was orange-hair such a common color? There's _two _of them.

He realized it immediately as a shot of electricity shot through his systems. "S-Sensei!" he shouted, raising his hand. "I-I need to go to the nurse!"

"Shimura, what—"

"My stomach hurts!" Without needing to listen anymore, he sprinted out of the classroom. His head was throbbing and it felt like his time to go outside the building lasted forever. He couldn't think about anything, all he thought was saving those two.

He slammed the door open and rushed outside. _Good, _he thought. _The teachers aren't here yet. _

"Oi," said one of the people surrounding them. "What's with your hair color? It's creeping me out."

"And you're a guy, right?" said another. "What's with the long hair into a braid?"

Shinpachi immediately broke into the circle and stood in front of Kamui. "Stop it!" he shouted. "It's cowardly to take on someone younger than you."

"Huh? Where did this four eye come from?"

Kamui stood there with his eyes finally opened. He took a look at Shinpachi's hands in front of him—they were shaking.

If he's scared, then why bother coming out of his comfort zone and trying to act cool?

That was what Kamui thought at the time, but as he watches Shinpachi getting beaten by those older kids, he wasn't acting cool. Shinpachi knows himself he couldn't do anything, and Kamui knows it too, so why…is he out here taking all the beating?

"Damn brat," one guy scoffed, as he continued to stomp on Shinpachi. He brutally kicked Shinpachi away and cracked his knuckles in front of Kamui, smirking. "One kid down. You're next."

His eyes widened as he sees Shinpachi lays there motionless, his glasses on the ground cracked, a bruise on his lips and a small trail of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

Kamui realized—Shinpachi just didn't want him or Kagura to get beaten up, so he took their place instead.

He tightened up his fist.

"Oi, kid," the guy growled. "I'll let you go if—"

"Shut up."

"What?"

Kamui smiled as usual, but it wasn't happy or anything—it was a serious, pissed off smile by Kamui only. "I'll give you ten seconds," he said. "In those ten seconds, you can run away and be spared, or be stupid and stay in those ten seconds and be beaten up by me."

"Idiot, what—"

"Ten."

"—you—"

"Nine."

"N-Nii-chan…" Kagura muttered out.

"Eight."

"Pri—"

"Seven."

"Shut up and—"

"Six."

"You little—"

"Five."

"Fu—"

"Four."

The bully was started to get pissed. "Little b—"

"Three."

"Eff you—"

"_Two._"

"Brat—"

Kamui opened his eyes, a monstrous look in his eyes. "_One._"

Kagura widened her eyes, shaking, trembling.

Shinpachi could barely see, but he knew what was going on. He wanted to shout and stop him, but he didn't have the energy to move. He blacked out.

He woke up with a throbbing pain on his cheek, along with everywhere else on his body. Shinpachi found himself in a bed covered in bandages.

"Awake?"

Shinpachi blinked and glanced at his sister. "Ane-ue?"

She didn't look too happy. She sat down, not looking at him. He knew this isn't going in a good direction.

"U-Um, Ane-ue," he stammered. "Y-You know…?"

She nodded.

"Umm… About that, umm…"

"I told you to don't get in trouble," she said stubbornly.

He hung his head. "S-Sorry…" He was ready to receive a big scolding and squeezed his eyes tight. It never came.

"Idiot."

He took a peek from the corner of his eye.

"Idiot," she repeated. "You're an idiot, Shin-chan. You were always Nobita-kun. You always had Doraemon to depend on. You were always the one getting bullied, but this time…you actually stood up for your friends and took the beatings until you look like Nobita-kun had gotten ran over by a truck…" Shinpachi opened his mouth, but he was immediately pulled into a hug. "You've grown so much… I'm proud of you."

Shinpachi didn't say anything. He just let his sister hug him. "Ane-ue," he said after a long silence. "Where's Kagura-chan and Kamui-san?"

"They're in the next room," she said, breaking the hug. "Are you going to visit them? I'll take you there."

He nodded and got out of the bed. His leg wasn't seriously broken, so he was able to walk properly into the next room with no problem. He knocked on the door an opened. He saw Kamui sitting with a few bandages around him and Kagura next to him with red eyes. She must've been crying.

She ran up to Shinpachi and hugged his legs. "Shinpachi!" she called out. He narrowed his eyes and patted her head.

"Sorry Kagura-chan. You had to see that fight…"

He glanced at Kamui, who seemed to be thinking about it. Shinpachi shook his head and walked towards Kamui. He didn't say anything, so Shinpachi spoke first.

"Why were they picking on you?" he asked.

"…They pushed Kagura."

"For what?"

"They said her hair color was weird."

Shinpachi regretted not punching those idiots. "So as an older brother, you stood up for her?"

He snuggled under his blanket deeper and gave a brief nod.

Shinpachi gave out a light smile and patted his head. He didn't say anything, nor did Kamui say anything. He just let him pat his head.

Soon after they recovered from their injuries, they received a huge scolding from Otae and were forced to do the entire chores in the house for a month, except for Kagura, since she was still too young.

Although both of them regretted it, in the end, they smiled and laughed.

Then they got another scolding from Otae for laughing.

**April**

Around this time was spring break. Since they lived in Japan, they would move to their next grade after spring break. Shinpachi was sad to part with his friends, but he was hoping to get stuck in the same class as them.

It's been a while since the incident, and the bullies were suspended for a few days. Kamui was left off easy, but was also suspended for a few days. It seemed pretty traumatizing for Kagura, so those two never talked about it again.

"Ane-ue, I'm going to go take a shower first," Shinpachi called out to his sister.

Otae, who was doing her homework on the table, nodded briefly before Shinpachi went inside.

As Shinpachi entered the bathroom, he sighed in bliss as the warm water soothed his cold and stiff skin. It got unusually cold tonight, despite still being in spring. As Shinpachi sunk lower into the water, he blew bubbles under the water, reciting his times table in his mind.

He closed his eyes and recited the seven table: _seven times one equals seven, seven times two equals fourteen, seven times three equals twenty-one, seven times four… _He opened his eyes saw a smiling orange-head right in front of him.

He stopped.

He stopped blowing bubbles.

He face was dramatically realistic.

"K-K-KAMUI-SAN!"

"Heya," he said casually with a smile.

Shinpachi backed up in the bath. "W-What're you doing here! And when did you get in here!"

"Just now," he said. "Kagura is here too, but she says she wanna take one with Otae. And to save water, she told me to come in and take one with you."

"That doesn't mean you can come in like you used shunpo!"

"Shinpachi-kun, you read too much Clorox," Kamui sighed and leaned on the tub with his arm dangling down. "Although I do like it though. It's awesome. Although the woman is really weak."

"Oi, don't talk about Hime like that," Shinpachi said blankly. "She's just a woman."

Kamui shrugged and played with the water by splashing it around. "Even the other lady isn't as weak as her."

"Ruki-san isn't the same as Hime. They're different, although their still girls," Shinpachi said.

Kamui shrugged and dropped the topic. "Hey, Shinpachi-kun," he began. "What happened to your parents?"

"They both died when I was really young," Shinpachi said casually.

"Oh. Sorry." He didn't sound sorry.

Shinpacchi pretended he didn't hear that. "What about you, Kamui-san?"

"My mom died soon after Kagura was born," he said. "And my pops is always traveling somewhere and left Kagura and I behind."

"Then how did you move here?"

"He was with us."

Shinpachi was shocked. "But I never saw him."

"He moves fast," Kamui said, bored. "He decided to move here 'cause it was easier to take the transportation here."

"Oh." Feeling like there's nothing else to talk about, Shinpachi got up. "Then I'll get out first. And I'm sorry for hearing that about your mother."

"No problem." Kamui just stayed in the bath.

Shinpachi grabbed a towel and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Kamui to himself, who was grinning to himself as always.

"Idiot," he chuckled.

After their short conversation in the bath, Kamui and Shinpachi suddenly got a lot closer than expected. Kagura as well, although she was always talkative. Shinpachi started to enjoy school with both of them, they started to walk home together often as time passes. Shinpachi really enjoyed having them here.

**August**

"Shin-chan, let's go to the summer festival today," Otae suggested brightly one day in the middle of a hot summer day in august.

"Eh?" Shinpachi stopped fanning himself. They needed to cut down electricity bills, so they're sitting outside on their sort of balcony, eating chilled watermelon and listening to their wind chime ring. Their house were half Japanese and half modern, so when you opened a sliding door, you can take a good look of the scenery and just sit there and relax.

"Summer festival?" Shinpachi repeated, taking another slice of watermelon.

"Yup," Otae nodded. "Why don't you take Kamui-san and Kagura-chan with you tonight? I have some yukatas for Kagura-chan to borrow."

Shinpachi thought about it for a moment. Will they be happy? Maybe they will. "Sure," he answered. "I'll take them."

Otae smiled. "Great! Then let's call them over!" She immediately ran next door. Shinpachi leaned back on the sliding door and fanned himself again. He smiled lightly to himself and thought about all the fun stands there will be there for those two to enjoy.

He smiled happily to himself and took another bite of his watermelon.

It didn't take long for everything to be prepared. Otae had gone with her own friends, and Shinpachi went with the orange-haired siblings. They ran around the festival with masks on their heads, choco bananas in their hands, grilled squid sticks, takoyaki, and prizes from the games they won.

"Shinpachi!" Kagura tugged on his yukata. "That! I wanna do that!" She pointed to a goldfish stand.

"Goldfish?" Shinpachi said. "Kagura-chan, you—" he stopped abruptly when he saw Kagura's blue eyes shining, staring eagerly at him. He gave in. "He walked up to the goldfish man and got three fish nets. He gave one to Kagura, who was cheering and one to Kamui, who was smiling as always.

Kagura, eyeing the goldfish swimming around, gave a glint and immediately splashed net into the water. "Got it!" she exclaimed…but her fish net was broken. She pouted. "Mister! Get me another one!"

"Here ya go, miss," the man said, handing her another net. She immediately sprung her hand into the water…and came springing back up with a broken net.

She pouted really stubbornly that her cheeks were red.

Shinpachi smiled awkwardly. "Kagura-chan, you shouldn't be rough," he said. "Here, I'll give you mine, and I'll help you. You gently, but quickly stick in the water with the fish…" he gave the net to Kagura and wrapped his hands around her tiny hands. "Then, quickly, you dump it into your bowl…" The fish sprung into the air and landed onto Shinpachi's bowl.

Kagura's eyes sparkled as she watches the fish swim in the tiny bowl. "M-Mister! I got the fish!"

The man was nodding and congratulating her. Shinpachi smiles as Kagura continues to cheer and Kamui was smiling like always.

Suddenly, he heard a big _BOOM! _sound. He looked up at the sky, and there were pretty pink and green sparks in the air.

Kagura and Kamui, upon from hearing the fireworks, immediately looked up in the sky and were instantly caught in its beauty.

"Pretty!" Kagura squealed.

"But we can't see too well from here," Kamui said.

"Then," Shinpachi suggested. "I know a good place." Shinpachi grabbed both of their hands and led them through the crowds and into an open field high and far away from the festival.

Kagura, looking around, was holding her brother's hand and squeezed it, excited to see another shot of those pretty stuff in the air. "Nii-chan," she said. "Where's Shinpachi taking us?"

Kamui smiled as always and didn't answer.

Soon, after looking around on the ground, Shinpachi smiled and sat down on the field. "Kagura-chan, Kamui-san, come take a seat." They did as they were told. A tree was conveniently there so they rested their backs there and stared up at the sky, waiting for the fireworks to bloom again.

A giant firework sizzled in the air, shooting out red and blue colors. It was in the shape of a flower.

Kagura, awed, cheered and threw her arms in the air, pretending she's touching it. Shinpachi chuckled at her excitement and Kamui smiled as always.

Just like that, the three continued to watch the fireworks in midsummer night bloom.

But Kagura was fast asleep on Shinpachi's lap from squealing and cheering too much. Shinpachi smiled and patted her head. "Was it fun, Kamui-san?" he asked, smiling.

Kamui, smiling like always, nodded. "Yea, it was fun." Another flash of fireworks thundered and the green light softly touched Kamui. Shinpachi couldn't take his gaze away from Kamui.

A red and green firework sprung. The light was on Shinpachi. "Then let's come here again next year. And then the next year, and then the next year…" he said softly.

"Yea. Sure." Kamui turned his smiling face to Shinpachi. "We'll come every year, here at this spot." He help up his fist, waiting for Shinpachi to respond.

Shinpachi grinned and pounded his fist on Kamui's.

**December**

Time flew by fast without Shinpachi even knowing it. It was already winter, and Christmas is coming soon. His sister was going to buy a Christmas cake to celebrate. Kagura and Kamui's dad won't be coming back for Christmas, so she bought a large cake and was planning to invite them.

Shinpachi happily agreed. He wanted to buy a present for them. "Nothing too expensive," Otae reminded him.

He nodded and then went off to buy them presents. He shivered the moment the piercing wind touched his face. He wiped some snowflakes off of his face and snuggled into his scarf. He really wanted to buy them a present.

So he quickly went into a shop and looked through the shelves. He had already decided on his sister's present, so he didn't need to be bother by it anymore. He thought maybe a cute hair accessory would be cute for Kagura, and maybe a new hair tie for Kamui. He noticed his old one was falling out.

But thinking again, Kamui is a guy, and a guy wouldn' really want a hair tie from another guy. He found these bunny cloth thingy that Kagura always wore around her buns. It was the same as her old one, but with bunnies dangling down on a string. He smiled and thought it was perfect for her.

He searched through more shelves for Kamui. He couldn't really find anything—what did Kamui like anyways?

Then he came across a pair of red gloves. They seemed really warm and fluffy. It would be nice to have gloves for the winter, right? He recalled that Kamui had just recently lost his gloves—perfect!

He quickly grabbed the gloves, asked the cashier lady to wrap it for him and paid for it. He walked out of the shop with a smile. "I hope they like it," he mumbled and walked home in the snow.

**December, Christmas**

"Merry Christmas!" Otae cheered, throwing confetti (old and reused colored paper) into the air. The other three clapped and cheered and toasted each other with orange juice.

Otae gulped her juice down in one gulp and slammed it down the table. "We'll party all night tonight!"

"YEA!" Kagura cheered, along with Shinpachi. They all gulped down their juice and ate their cake.

They partied and partied and partied until the clock strikes twelve, but they didn't make it—Otae and Kagura fell asleep somewhere around ten.

Shinpachi sighed and pulled a blanket over them as the two snuggled under a kotatsu.

Kamui sat under the kotatsu too, finishing the last bites of the Christmas cake. The only sounds left was the television, which was featuring an event at a shop.

Shinpachi took this as an opportunity to hand Kamui his present. He handed Kamui the present with a big smile.

"Here, Kamui-san," he smiled. "It's my Christmas present to you."

Kamui stared at it, and then at Shinpachi back and forth. He pointed to himself, still munching on the cake.

Shinpachi nodded.

He swallowed his cake and gingerly took the present like it was an unknown object. "C-Can I open it…?"

Shinpachi nodded. "Of course."

He searched for a gap to open from and ripped the wrapping carefully and opened the box inside.

His blue eyes widened.

It was a pair of red gloves. He carefully held it in his hands. "Can I…put it on?"

"Of course."

Almost hesitant, Kamui slowly slipped the gloves on his hands. It fitted him perfectly. He stared at it like it was a box of treasure. "T-Thanks…" Kamui mumbled.

Shinpachi heard it clearly. "You're welcome. It's Christmas after all."

**January**

They visited a shrine on New Years and prayed like what a local Japanese citizen would do. They drew lots for their luck for this year.

"Nii-chan, what did you get?" Kagura asked eagerly. "I got Excellent Luck!"

"Me too," Kamui smiled, showing her the paper.

"My, I got Excellent Luck too," Otae said happily. "What about you, Shin-chan?" He glanced at him…only to find a depressing aura around him.

"…The Absolutely Worst Terrible Luck of the year…" he mumbled depressingly.

Kagura laughed.

Soon after that, they began to pound some mochi in the back of the Shimura Residence's backyard. After they were finished pounding some mochi, Shinpachi made them some red bean soup with the mochi they made for them, which they are like there was no tomorrow.

Shinpachi smiled. This is a good way to start the year.

**February**

Valentine's Day was coming up. Shinpachi had always waited for this time of the year. It was a man's dream to receive chocolate from the girls. He would wake up extra early and get the chocolate. But every year, it was from his sister only.

He found it very, very sad.

Because it was burnt.

So Shinpachi had to make himself a chocolate cake and share it with his sister.

This year, he was determined to receive at least one chocolate from another girl. So he walked out of the house early today and went to school ahead of the orange-haired siblings.

The first thing he did: check his shoe locker. He took a deep breath. His hand was on the knob. But he didn't open it. He took another deep breath. But he didn't open it. He looked around him. No one was there. Finally, he took another deep breath and opened it.

"…"

Another depressing Valentine's Day apparently.

He sighed and put his shoes in the locker and wore his indoor shoes. "I guess I'll be receiving chocolate from Ane-ue again this year…"

He walked down the hall, and he was hearing love chats around him:

"Here you go! Valentine chocolate for you!"

"T-Thanks…"

"I-It's not like it's for you or anything…it's obligation chocolate!"

"T-Takumi-kun, V-Valentine…"

"Here you go my dear friend, obligation chocolate like always!"

Shinpachi seriously wanted to smack those stupid couples receiving chocolate. He dashed into his classroom and read his book to distract him away from the stupid couples.

Wait.

He brightened up.

There's that old fashioned putting-chocolate-in-your-lover's-desk technique!

He gulped and took a peek below his desk. He saw something red!

_I-Is it?_

He gulped and took a closer look.

It was his pencil case.

He crushed it with his own hands.

_Damn you, Valentine's Daaaayyyy!_

And so the rest of the day went on like that, with Shinpachi getting pissed off of the girls at giving chocolate, and the damned guys who look so bashfully, but they know they're raging with happiness inside!

He stomped the floor on his way home. He didn't see Kamui or Kagura today, but he didn't think about it—it's another depressing Valentine, Shinpachi-kun.

"I'm home," he grunted as he took off his shoes. Suddenly, his nose detected some thing sweet—it was the smell of chocolate!

He immediately dashed into the kitchen…but holy, it was blocked with a giant piece of wooden wall saying KEEP OUT.

"W-Why…"

"Kagura and Otae are in there."

"K-Kamui-san!"

Kamui peacefully sipped his tea under the kotatsu. "They wouldn't tell me what they're making, but I'm guessing it's chocolate for Valentine."

Shinpachi took a seat under the kotatsu, feeling the warmth. "Yea… But Ane-ue cooking…" he shivered at the memory. "I had to live through that every year on this day."

"Must've been hard, Shinpachi-kun," Kamui sipped his tea.

"It was hard."

Suddenly, the wall was moved to the side and out came Otae and Kagura, covered in chocolate with a plate in their hand.

"Welcome home, Shin-chan!" Otae exclaimed. "Kagura-chan was really enthusiastic on making chocolate, after I explained to her what day it is today. She said she really wanted to make some, so I helped her!"

"Nii-chan! Shinpachi!" Kagura ran up to them and held up her plate. It looked like a big glob of some kind of hardened chocolate, but on it, it said in messy writing, "Happy Valentine, Nii-chan, Shinpachi."

Shinpachi could've almost teared up at that moment. His first time receiving chocolate from someone other than his sister.

"T-Thank you, Kagura-chan," he said sincerely, accepting the chocolate. He popped it into his mouth.

Crunch.

It's hard. As in, rock-hard hard.

But nonetheless, he pretended it was nothing and ate it. "I-It's really good, Kagura-chan," he forced out. It wasn't exactly a lie; it tasted like chocolate at least.

Kagura grinned. "Yay!"

Kamui was eating his share like it was nothing. "It's good, Kagura."

"Ane-go, Nii-chan complimented my chocolate!"

"That's good to hear, Kagura-chan! Now, for my chocolate…"

Shinpachi immediately got up. "I-In celebration, I'll make some chocolate cake and hot cocoa for us!" And dashed into the kitchen.

"My! I'll be waiting for it, Shin-chan!" Otae said. "Then Kamui-kun, if you'd like…" she offered him her chocolate.

He could detect the burntness.

Otae sensed his awkward silence. So she shoved it up his mouth.

Inside the kitchen, Shinpachi pretended he didn't hear his cry of agony.

**March**

It's already been a year since the orange-haired siblings came to their town. Shinpachi remembered it like it was yesterday.

Everyday was the same—they would walk together, eat lunch together, and then go home and do homework together.

Shinpachi really hoped that this would last forever.

**Five years later, graduation**

Shinpachi graduated from middle school. Kamui had graduated first, and when to Harusame High.

Shinpachi was planning on following him into Harusame High, but Kamui rejected the idea, saying that Shinpachi wouldn't take it, so he applied to Gintama High instead.

Kagura had matured a lot, and was hoping to graduate soon and follow Kamui.

Around that time, whenever Shinpachi had dinner, it was only with Kagura and Otae. Kamui didn't come as often anymore.

Shinpachi really liked Gintama High—that's where his sister is, and she introduced to him some of her friends—Okita, Hijikata, Kondou, Yamazaki, Sacchan, Katsura and his weird duck-penguin friend, and a weird teacher who didn't taught anything called Ginpachi-sensei… He enjoyed it a lot. Except for the teacher part.

But honestly, he wished he could go back to when Kagura and Kamui were together.

Two years later, Kagura graduated and entered Gintama High. She didn't get accepted into Harusame High, but at least she was with Shinpachi. Gintama High was a weird school; they didn't really group the students by their grades and age group—they just grouped random students together and Kagura ended up in the same class as Otae and Shinpachi. Apparently they're going to graduate soon. But the principal was an odd person, so he didn't care about it. Kagura was pretty smart anyways.

Shinpachi was somewhat satisfied. It was like back then again. Only if Kamui were here… He recently learned that he transferred to Yato Technical High, a school where the troublemakers were sent, almost like a boot camp.

He heard occasional stories from Kagura that Kamui hasn't been coming home lately and that he's been getting into fights.

Shinpachi frowned. Kamui had changed a lot ever since he graduated. It's like he doesn't care about them anymore.

**August**

It's summer. And he still hasn't seen Kamui. The summer festival this year…will he come? He never came ever since graduation.

Shinpachi sighed and ate his shaved ice. Maybe he'll go with his high school friends then…Kagura will be there too.

Otae had gone out to shop with Kyuubei, so he was alone in the house. She had managed to get a part-time job, and he managed to get a part-time job, so both of them were able to pay the bills and have enough to shop for other stuff.

Shinpachi sighed as he left the spoon hanging on his mouth. He wanted to see Kamui.

Later that night, Shinpachi went to the festival with his friends. Ginpachi-sensei was there, too. He was trying to catch the goldfish but his net kept on breaking.

Goldfish…

He recalled the time when every year they would visit the goldfish stand and catch the goldfish, and went home happy with the fish in their tank. But they died shortly because Kagura thought fish had the same taste as her so she fed them sukonbu. They must've died from the pollution, because Kagura put an entire stick of sukonbu in there.

Shinpachi got closer to the stand and watches Ginpachi-sensei attempt on his goldfish catching again. Then the man noticed him. "Oh, hey it's you again!"

"Hello," Shinpachi said.

"You're not here with the orange-haired man this year again?" he asked curiously.

Shinpachi shook his head.

"Well you might see him this year," the same grinned. "He stopped by earlier with two friends got a quick game and I overheard him saying something about going to an open field…"

It immediately sparked something inside Shinpachi's head. "Thank you, Mister!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, guys, I'm going to go somewhere…"

"Hm? Oi, Shinpachi? Where are you going?" Ginpachi asked.

"I'll be back soon!"

Shinpachi ran past the crowds, maneuvered through them and into the open field where him, Kagura and Kamui first enjoyed the fireworks.

He ran up the hill and saw a flash of red. The fireworks had already begun. Even so, he didn't stop and continued to run…until he saw someone sitting in that same spot every year.

He panted and huffed as he stopped in front of the orange-haired man in front of him.

He turned to him with a usual smile. "Heya."

"Kamui-san…" An anger mark ticked on his cheek. "WHERE WERE YOU, IDIOT!" he screamed. "EVEN THOUGH WE LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, WE HARDLY SEE EACH OTHER ANYMORE, IDIOT! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT KAGURA-CHAN IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU? YOU DON'T EVEN GIVE HER A CALL OR A MESSAGE! SHE EVEN TURNED INTO SOME CRAZY WOMAN WITH CRAZY STRENGTH!" Shinpachi huffed at his long rants before continuing. Kamui simply smiled, listening.

"BESIDES, YOU BROKE OUR PROMISE! WE PROMISED THAT WE WOULD COME HERE EVERY YEAR TO SEE FIREWORKS TOGETHER! BUT YET, I COME HERE EVERY YEAR AND I DON'T EVEN…" He begged to himself literally, to don't let those tears fall down.

"I didn't break our promise," Kamui said softly. Shinpachi looked up at him. "I do come here every year. But I never see you, Shinpachi-kun. We must've missed each other."

"THEN AT LEAST GIVE ME A CALL!"

Kamui shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "Sorry. I didn't have time."

"What do you mean, you don't have time?" Shinpachi hissed. "Fighting with people everyday?"

Kamui smiled and took a pause before answering, "Yea."

The next thing he knew, Shinpachi's fist was stopped by Kamui's single hand. "You're just like Nobita-kun, Shinpachi-kun," Kamui said. "You couldn't do anything by yourself. Remember that Doraemon film, where he had to go back to the future? In the end, Nobita-kun was helped by Doraemon's last gadget. Really, Nobita-kun couldn't do anything by himself…" Kamui slowly opened his eyes. "…but he managed to scare Gian away all by himself."

Kamui smiles again, seeing tears falling down on the ground. "You're just like Nobita-kun, Shinpachi-kun."

Shinpachi looked up at Kamui and took his fist away. "You…heard my conversation with Ane-ue?"

He nodded.

"…Eavesdropper."

"The words just came into my ears—I didn't mean to hear," he smiles.

"…why didn't you come back?"

"I was hanging out with friends," he said casually.

"For eight years?"

"Yea."

Shinpachi tightened his fist. "…You're an idiot, Kamui-san."

"Not as much of an idiot as you, Shinpachi-kun."

"…so you knew." He eyed his suspiciously.

"I always knew you were an idiot," he replied with a smile.

"No!" Shinpachi exclaimed. "You knew…that I…" he blushed. "…had feelings for you."

Kamui didn't reply. He just smiles like always and watches the fireworks. "I don't like weaklings," he said. "I only like the strong ones. Just like Kagura. She got too weak, so I left her."

He could feel his anger flare up. Is he trying to make him mad? "Stop lying," Shinpachi growled. "You love Kagura-chan. You know how she's been doing. You know she's been training herself, but you don't give her any messages or calls until like once every ten years."

"She's not strong enough for my taste," Kamui said blandly. "She's still just a weakling."

"Don't say that about Kagura-chan. She worked hard to get into Harusame High just to find you."

"But too bad she didn't get accepted. And around that time, I was already in Yato Technical High. She wouldn't have met me anyways, even if she did. She's too weak." Kamui smiled. "I still haven't found anyone strong and interesting yet."

"Then what about me?" Shinpachi asked softly, causing Kamui to open his eyes. He was surprised to see Shinpachi staring at him with serious eyes. "In your eyes…what do you see me as?"

Kamui reverted back to his smile and titled his head. "You're Nobita-kun."

His serious gaze didn't falter. "…Kamui-san, you're a real jerk you know."

"…I know I am. That's why…" Kamui got up, dusted off his pants and stared at Shinpachi straight in the eye. A huge red and green fireworks bloomed in the air.

"I can only see you as a friend."

Shinpachi stood still. He couldn't move. He couldn't move to stop Kamui from walking past him. He couldn't do anything.

Just a friend.

Kamui sees him just as a friend.

Shinpachi clenched his fist and screamed into the midsummer night. The day where he and Kamui made a promise. Right there, on the very same spot, was where he realized his own feelings for Kamui.

"_Then let's come here again next year. And then the next year, and then the next year…" _

Shinpachi remembered how his heart was racing at that moment. He really wanted Kamui to keep his promise.

"_Yea. Sure. We'll come every year, here at this spot."_

He was happy that he promised. Right there, he realized he loved Kamui.

And right there on the very same spot, was where he was rejected by Kamui.

Shinpachi fell to his knees; tears fell down his cheeks.

Just a friend.

Just a friend.

Just a…friend.

Glimpse and flashes of the memories they spent together sprinted through his mind. He could never go back to that time anymore. Not as kids where they could play together innocently without a care in the world.

Shinpachi sniffed and raised his head into the sky. The fireworks seemed extra pretty tonight.

He couldn't even say three words to him. Just three words that would convey his entire feelings for Kamui. But Shinpachi knew it he wouldn't have gotten the chance to say it anyways.

"I knew it from the beginning…" Shinpachi mumbled. "From the very beginning…he only sees me as a friend."


End file.
